Coal Mines

The same geological forces that produced our wonderful Ledges also left behind coal seams in our area. Eaton County is on the southern edge of Michigan’s coal basin which lies under Central Michigan. The coal is soft and of a lower quality, but being found locally was a cheap source for fuel.

It did not take the early settlers of Grand Ledge long to notice the coal outcropping as they explored the Ledges. By the 1870s coal mining operations were well underway here. The mines in Grand Ledge were found on both sides of the river, starting downtown and extending out past Lawson Road. From the 1870s to 1940s it is believed that as many as 30 coal mines operated in this stretch of the river.

Grand Ledge's mines included slope and vertical mines. Most mines were a slope mine along the river bank where the miners entered openings dug into the river bank and crawled into the mine to the coal seam. Some of the mines that were not near the river were entered down vertical shafts. When these shafts were later abandoned some filled with water and remain today as ponds with very deep centers.

Once the men were underground they lit lamps and followed the mine as it snaked haphazardly back and forth, following the largest deposits of coal. It was not a pleasant working environment- water pooled under their feet, the air smelled and was full of dust, despite attempts at ventilation. Miners had to walk stooped over or even crawl to the coal seam. Reaching the coal, they chipped and hammered it from the surrounding rock. Many times miners chipped away at the coal seam while laying on their bellies in wet mud that made up the floors of the mines. Timbers helped reinforce the mine as coal was removed.

One well remembered mine was the Tinkham Mine. This was located on the Northside near the Trestle. This often provided coal to local residents. One memorable photograph shows a teenage Bill Pearson Sr. hauling a bag of coal from the Tinkham Mine on a sled during the coal shortage in the winter of 1918. Young Bill was delivering the coal to his father’s Barbershop on North Bridge Street.